California State History
Discovery Journal
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My WorldStrides
California State History
Discovery Journal
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Table of Contents
Map of California........................................................... 1
Government................................................................. 3
State Capitol.................................................................. 3
Counties........................................................................ 5
State Seals.................................................................... 6
Branches of Government.............................................. 8
Making Laws................................................................. 9
Governor’s Portrait...................................................... 12
Sutter’s Fort............................................................... 13
Gold Rush.................................................................. 16
Coloma........................................................................ 18
Sutter’s Mill.................................................................. 19
The Nisenan................................................................ 21
Mining Gold................................................................. 22
Pony Express............................................................. 26
Railroads.................................................................... 27
San Francisco............................................................ 29
Cable Cars.................................................................. 30
Exploratorium.............................................................. 32
Alcatraz....................................................................... 34
nto
me
cra
Sa
American River
er
R iv
Fwy
16th
Stree
t
Railroad
Museum
Capit
et
State Capitol
Eureka
al Cit
y
L Stre
Crescent City
Sutter’s Fort
Redding
Capit
al Cit
y Fwy
RNIA
Sacramento
Coloma
Sacramento
San Francisco
San Jose
Madera
Salinas
San Luis Obispo
Barstow
Santa Barbara
Los Angeles
Riverside
Anaheim
San Diego
CALIF
Santa Rosa
1
California
WORD BANK
Choose from these
options to fill in the
blanks below.
Eureka
Mount Whitney
CA Desert Tortoise
California Redwood
California Grizzly Bear
Sacramento
California Gray Whale
September 9, 1850
Death Valley
Golden Poppy
California Valley Quail
Golden State
I love you, California
Dog-face Butterfly
Native Gold
California Golden Trout
Fill in the following blanks based on what you learn on your California State History program.
State Song: _______________________________________________________
State Motto:_______________________________________________________
State Nickname: ____________________________________________________
State Tree:________________________________________________________
State Mineral:______________________________________________________
State Bird: ________________________________________________________
State Flower:_______________________________________________________
State Fish: ________________________________________________________
State Reptile:______________________________________________________
State Animal: ______________________________________________________
State Insect: _______________________________________________________
State Marine Mammal: ________________________________________________
Date State Entered the Union: ____________________________________________
State Capital: ______________________________________________________
Highest Point (14,494 ft.): ______________________________________________
Lowest Point (-282 ft.):________________________________________________
2
Government
Draw a picture of the California State Flag:
Statehood: California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850.
• Between 1849 and 1854, San Jose, Vallejo, Benicia, and Sacramento served as
temporary capital cities.
• In 1854, the capital city moved permanently to Sacramento.
• The first State Constitution was written in Monterey, but the first Legislature and the
first elected governor, Peter Burnett, met for the first time in San Jose.
• The present State Capitol was built between 1860 – 1874.
• All three branches of government moved into this building in 1869, even though it was
not yet completed.
• The Capitol was remodeled three times to accommodate growth and earthquakes. It
was finally restored to its original look between 1975 and 1982. • This was the largest restoration project in the western United States; it brought back the
original elegance of the Capitol and established it as a working museum.
• Today the Capitol houses the legislative branch (Senate and Assembly) and the offices of
the governor and lieutenant governor.
• San Francisco was used as an interim meeting place when flooding occurred in
Sacramento, but was never a permanent capital.
3
Government
Questions to Think About
1. What was the first capital city of the state of California?
_____________________________________________________________
2. Who was California’s first elected governor as part of the Union?
_____________________________________________________________
3. On what date did California become a state?
_____________________________________________________________
4. California was the ___________ state to join the Union.
“Capitals” and “Capitols”
Capital = the city where government meets
Capitol = the building where laws are made
Hint: Capitol has a dome.
The capital of California moved FIVE times in its first four
years as a state.
List the cities that served as California state capitals below in order:
1. ____________________________ 3. _______________________________
2. ____________________________ 4. _______________________________
4
*Monterey was the capital prior to statehood.
Government
California Counties
8
47
1. Add a star to the map for Sacramento, the state capital.
25
2. Identify and mark your county.
12
18
45
55
3. Which county is the largest?
52
11
23
6
17
48
____________________________________
32
4
28
51
44
9
34
3
5
1
2
54
_______________________________________
26
22
50
43
4. Which county is the smallest?
31
39
7
38
41
58 29
57
49
21
46
24
20
10
35
14
53
27
16
40
1.Alameda
2.Alpine
3.Amador
4.Butte
5.Calaveras
6. Colusa
7. Contra Costa
8. Del Norte
9. El Dorado
10.Fresno
11.Glenn
12.Humboldt
13.Imperial
14.Inyo
15.Kern
16.Kings
17.Lake
18.Lassen
19.Los Angeles
20.Madera
15
36
42
56
21.Marin
22.Mariposa
23.Mendocino
24.Merced
25.Modoc
26.Mono
27.Monterey
28.Napa
29.Nevada
30.Orange
31.Placer
32.Plumas
33.Riverside
34.Sacramento
35.San Benito
36.San Bernardino
19
33
30
37
37.San Diego
38.San Francisco
39.San Joaquin
40.San Luis Obispo
41.San Mateo
42.Santa Barbara
43.Santa Clara
44.Santa Cruz
45.Shasta
46.Sierra
47.Siskiyou
13
48.Sonoma
49.Solano
50.Stanislaus
51.Sutter
52.Tehama
53.Tulare
54.Tuolumne
55.Trinity
56.Ventura
57.Yolo
58.Yuba
5
Government
State Seals
The state seal was adopted in 1849, one year before California was admitted into the Union. The 31 stars across
the top represent one for each state, before California became the 31st state in 1850. Beneath the stars appears the
state motto, “Eureka” (a Greek word meaning “I have found it”). The Sierra Nevada Mountains, as
well as the San Francisco Bay, accent the natural beauty of California. The ships symbolize trade and commerce.
The miner in the background represents the state’s mining industry and the Gold Rush. The agricultural
wealth is seen in a sheaf of wheat and cluster of grapes. Keeping watch over the seal is the armored figure of
the mythological Goddess of Wisdom, Minerva (in Roman mythology) or Athena (in Greek mythology).
Minerva was born an adult the same way that California was born a state, but not ever considered to be a territory.
At her feet is the California Grizzly Bear, which is the state symbol for strength and independence.
The images on the Great Seal of California remind us of only a part of our state history. Two
new seals at the Capitol now honor the California Indian and Spanish/Mexican people.
These new seals help to remind us of people who came before California’s statehood. These
people continue to have great influence in California today.
At the request of the Legislature, the new bronze seals were placed near the west steps of
the State Capitol on May 28, 2002. You will find them on each side of the State Seal.
6
Government
Instructions: Read the information and answer the two questions below.
• The state’s great native diversity is represented by 68 California
Indian tribes and languages.
• The Indian woman with the child represents the importance of
family unity and cultural continuity to native peoples today and
in the past.
• A basket, an oak tree, and several other images represent
diverse aspects of Indian culture.
• Three planes represent Indian participation in the American
military.
• This seal honors the contributions and history of
Spanish/Mexican California.
• The face in the center is actually two faces, representing the
Spanish and native peoples. A third face appears at the center
representing the melding of these cultures in California.
• The three rings around the center show familiar images from
California’s Spanish period, Mexican period, and statehood.
1. What symbols represent Indian history in California?
2. What symbols are related to Spanish/Mexican history?
California Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Located in the California State Capitol Park, the 600 square foot memorial is constructed of concrete,
granite and bronze. It commemorates the Californians that died in the Vietnam War. The Memorial is
circular in design, with bronze sculptures depicting people with many different roles, such as soldiers,
nurses, and POWs.
• The 5,822 names of California’s dead and missing are engraved on 22 black granite panels, arranged by their hometowns.
• The Memorial cost 2.5 million dollars to build and was entirely funded by donations.
7
7
Government
The Three Branches of Government
LEGISLATIVE
Makes the law
8
AssemblySenate
80 legislators
40 legislators
EXECUTIVE
Executes and
law
Enforces the
Governor, lieutenant governor,
attorney general,
secretary of state, treasurer,
controller, insurance
commissioner, superintendent
of public instruction
JUDICIAL Interprets the law
State courts and judges
(the seven Supreme Court
justices head the judicial
branch)
Government
What Is the Law?
•
•
•
•
•
•
A rule tells us what we should or should not do. A state law is a rule that all people in California must follow.
Ideas for laws can come from anyone, of any age, but a bill can only be taken through the official steps by a legislator.
A bill is an idea for a law that has been written in legal language.
There are two groups, or houses, of legislation in California – senators and assembly members.
A committee is a group of legislators who study the bill.
• Debate is a discussion about the bill.
• Veto means “to forbid.” It gives a government official the right to reject or prohibit a proposed act or bill.
How an Idea Becomes a Law
2
1
Someone thinks of an idea
for a new law and presents
their idea to a legislator.
4
5
If a bill gets enough votes
to pass in the house where
it started, it goes to the
other house and repeats
steps 5 and 6.
Legislative lawyers write
the idea in legal language.
It is now called a bill.
A legislator agrees to take
it through the official steps.
The bill is taken to the
Assembly or the Senate,
where the bill is given a
number.
7
3
The bill goes to a
committee, which holds
public meetings to discuss
the bill. People write in,
email, or call in responses
to the proposed law.
8
6
9
If a bill does not get the
number of votes it needs
from each house, it dies.
If the committee
recommends the bill to be
passed, it goes back to the
full Assembly or Senate for
debate and vote.
Bills that have passed in both
houses go to the governor.
The governor can sign the
bill, veto it, or not sign
the bill (after 12 days, an
unsigned bill becomes a law).
10
The bill becomes a law for the State of California. Most laws take
effect on the first day of the following year.
9
Government
Let’s Make a Law
Use the information in the chart on page 9 to answer the following questions.
1. What is a state law?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What is a bill?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Ideas for laws can come from____________________________________________________ .
A. only people born in California
B. anyone whether a citizen or not
C. only citizens of the United States
4. Name the two houses (groups) of the legislature.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. After a bills passes both houses, it _________________________________________________ .
A. becomes a law
B. returns to committee
C. goes to the governor
6. The governor may choose to sign the bill, not sign the bill, or________________________________ it.
7. If the governor does not sign the bill within 12 days, the bill _________________________________ .
A. returns to committee
B. becomes a law anyway
C. will not become a law
8. How old must you be to present an idea for a law to the state legislature?__________________________
A. 18 years or older
B. 21 years or older
C. any age
10
Government
9. Most state laws take effect on____________________________________________________ .
A. the first day of the following year
B. the day the governor signs the bill
C. the same day the idea is presented to the legislature
10. What idea do you have for a new state law? Write your idea below and explain why you think this law is important
for California.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
11. If you wanted to propose your idea, you could present it to the assembly member or senator who represents your
district. Write their names here:
Assembly Member:________________________________________________________________________
Senator:________________________________________________________________________________
12. What are the pros/cons of your proposed law? What makes your law a good law to have?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Pros
Cons
11
Government
Governor’s Portrait
Each governor’s portrait is on display in the Capitol. The artist of each portrait is chosen by the governor, so that the
picture represents the personality of the governor. Explain the character displayed by these governors and then draw
your own portrait and character.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (Democrat) 1975-1983
Pete Wilson (Republican) 1991-1999
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican) 2003-2011
Your Portrait here
12
WORD BANK
Choose from these options to fill in
the blanks below. Some answers
may be used more than once.
1839
Mexican
American
New Helvetia
James W. Marshall
47,827
Bear Flag
1891
1880
1803
Kandern/Baden
Alta
John Sutter was born in _____________, Germany and was married by the age of 23 to Anna
Dubeld. In 1834, when Sutter was 31 years old, he sailed to New York and briefly settled in Missouri. His interest in adventure didn’t end there. He soon picked up and traveled to Kansas, Washington,
Hawaii, Alaska, and eventually sailed up the American River and settled in ________, California.
In 1840, “Captain” Sutter became a ____________ citizen, and in 1841, he received a grant of
____________ acres along the Sacramento River. By 1845, Sutter had lots of cattle, horses, and
sheep on his working fort. Although the name, “____________” didn’t last, Sutter’s Fort became a
magnet for travelers. Anyone who arrived at the fort was fed and some were employed.
Sutter’s Fort
Sutter’s Fort
Sutter’s Fort, of course, flew the ____________ flag, as Sutter maintained a friendly relationship
with everyone. In 1846, the____________ Revolt in Sonoma caused a new flag, a lone star, to be
raised briefly over Sutter’s Fort. Soon thereafter, the American flag was raised. Sutter was given back
his command of the fort in March of 1847. Among the dozens of men Sutter employed was ________________, who, in 1848, discovered
gold in the ____________ River, about 50 miles east of the fort. Soon, the gold rush became
a refuge for many miners and traders. Some unscrupulous men began swindling Sutter out of his
holdings and squatters took over much of his land. As debts piled up, John Sutter was forced to sell the
fort at the end of 1849, resulting in his retirement at his ranch near Marysville, CA.
By the late 1850s all that was left of Sutter’s Fort was the Central Building. The Native Sons of the
Golden West purchased it in 1890 and donated it to the State in 1891. Reconstruction began in
____________, and was completed in 1893. Sutter’s Fort became part of the California State Park
System in 1947.
After a fire destroyed the ranch, Sutter and his wife decided to go to Washington, D.C. to obtain
reimbursement from Congress for his aid to emigrants and for his help in colonizing the State of
California. His pleas were never answered, however, because on June 16th, ____________, Congress
adjourned without passing the reimbursement bill and Sutter died two days later. His wife, Anna, lived
another six months and was buried alongside him in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
13
Sutter’s Fort
Questions to Think About
1. Which of the jobs you saw at Sutter’s Fort would you like to do? Why?
____________________________________________________________________
2. What types of chores would you do at Sutter’s Fort if you were living there now?
____________________________________________________________________
3. How did children who lived at the Fort have fun?
____________________________________________________________________
4. Why didn’t Sutter build his fort by the river?
____________________________________________________________________
KITCHEN
GRIST
MILL
BAKERY
HORNO (oven)
TRADE
STORE
QUARTERS
SUTTER’S
OFFICE
BLACKSMITH
GUARD
ROOM
DOCTOR’S
OFFICE
OUTHOUSE
JAIL
GUN
PLATFORM
PATTY
REED’S DOLL
Sutter’s Fort Scavenger Hunt
1. Find Sutter’s trade store (not the souvenir shop). Name three things they sold there.
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
14
2. Find the blacksmith’s shop.
a. How many horse shoes can you count there? _________________________________________
b. Why did the blacksmith need a fire?______________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Sutter’s Fort
3. Find the gristmill.
a. What was the mill used for?_________________________________________________________
b. What made the wheel turn?________________________________________________________
4. Find the kitchen. How many places were there in the kitchen to build a fire for cooking?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. How is this kitchen different from your kitchen at home?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. Find the bakery.
a. Where was the bread baked? _______________________________________________________
b. What shape is the oven? __________________________________________________________
7. Find the doctor’s office. How is it different from your present-day doctor’s office?
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Find Patty Reed’s doll. What was different about the doll you discovered?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
9. Find a bedroom in the fort. How is it similar to or different from your own bedroom?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
10.
Find a place where prisoners might be kept. Why do you think it might be a jail? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
15
Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
Imagine you have been traveling three months with a wagon train on the California Trail. You have
reached the dreaded desert in Nevada called the Carson Sink, and your wagon must be abandoned
because your oxen are too weak to continue the trek. Other members of the wagon train had to leave
wagons alongside the trail, too. Now, only a few wagons continue to roll across the desolate land.
A sympathetic companion offers you space in his wagon, but says you can only bring seven items.
Ahead lies more desert, and after that the Sierra Nevada. What seven items would you take and what
could you live without?
Choose your seven items:
100-lb. bag of flour
5-lb. bag of salt
one buffalo hide
$5000 in gold
table and chairs
farming tools
10-gallon pail
iron stove
shovel and axe
book about California
seeds for farming
medicines
Biblewarm clothesspyglass
100 feet of rope
sewing kit
kitchen pots
paper and pen
beef jerky
keg of nails
fiddlehammer and sawblankets
chest of drawers
saddle
glass windows
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________
7. _____________________________________________________________
16
Gold Rush
Making Connections
Write the number of the answer in the space next to the matching definition
1. PLACER
_____ A liquid metal used by miners to concentrate gold
2. MARSHALL
_____ The workers who constructed Sutter’s Mill
3. ADOBE
_____ A ditch that drains water away from machinery
4. BRANNAN
_____ The kind of rock within which gold is found
5. SAWMILL
_____ An odd-shaped chunk of gold
6. GRISTMILL
_____ A deposit of sand with gold dust in it
7. MORMONS
_____ A brick made out of dried mud
8. SUTTER
_____ The Native Americans who lived near Sutter’s Mill
9. MERCURY
_____ Looking for gold
10. ADZE
_____ A forest of large shrubs found in the foothills
11. TAILRACE
_____ A small machine used for washing out placer gold
12. NISENAN
_____ He built a sawmill and discovered gold
13. QUARTZ
_____ A machine that cuts lumber from logs
14. NUGGET
_____ A machine that grinds grain into flour
15. CHAPARRAL
_____ The owner of New Helvetia, a fort and a mill
16. PROSPECTING
_____ He announced the news of the gold discovery
17. CRADLE
_____ A tool for making the sides of a log flat
17
Gold Rush
The Town of Coloma
Coloma was a thriving town in the mid-1850s, with
busy stores, hotels, and saloons crowding both sides
of Main Street for nearly a half mile. Most of the
buildings burned down or were torn down long ago,
but thirteen historic structures remain on Coloma’s
Main Street.
Questions to Think About
1. How would California be different if gold had not been discovered?
2. People usually think of the gold rush as an adventure for the people involved. What is an adventure? Did most
people have a good or bad adventure?
3. How does it feel to hope and plan for great success, only to lose everything because of adversity? What
adversities did the early pioneers face? How did they overcome these problems? Should people risk everything
for a chance to be rich?
18
Gold Rush
Understanding Sutter’s Mill
Find these things and write their names on the picture, then connect the description to the part of the mill.
WATERWHEEL
TRUNNEL
SAW-BLADE
LOG
BOARD
LOG CARRIAGE
LOG
HEADBLOCK
WINDLASS
DOGS
PULLEY
Turned by the water, it powers the mill
Cuts the log
On the loading ramp
On the log carriage
On the discharge ramp
A heavy block of wood that pushes the log into the saw
An assembly that slides along the floor of the mill and carries the log through the saw
A machine with a hand crank that pulls on the rope
A large wooden peg that holds the wood beams together
It holds the rope out of the way and provides leverage to pull log up
Iron hooks that hold the log onto the log carriage
19
Gold Rush
Put these events in chronological order by labeling numbers inside the boxes:
□
James Marshall
discovers gold
Nisenan
□
State Park is created
□
Boom town of Coloma
□
□
The Gold Rush
20
□
Building of the James
Marshall Monument
Gold Rush
The Nisenan
The Native Americans who lived along the American River called themselves “Nisenan.” Their society, while rich in oral
and cultural tradition, religion, and other human attributes, was lacking in technology. Their primary source of food
was acorns, along with bulbs, seeds, fish, and much more. The land was generous with its gifts, and the Nisenan were
numerous, content, and thriving. Aside from occasional trade, they had little contact with other peoples. The Nisenan
called their home along the American River “Cullumah,” meaning beautiful vale, now known as Coloma. Here they
lived for thousands of years, unaware of the yellow metal that would attract the invaders who would devastate their
land and threaten their very existence.
Fill in the chart below with the correct answers:
What did the Nisenan learn from John
Sutter and the other mining families?
What did John Sutter and the other
mining families learn from the Nisenan?
What problems did the Nisenan face
due to the mining?
What problems did the mining families
face due to the Nisenan?
21
Gold Rush
Mining Gold
placer
rocker
coyote
eight
water
WORD BANK
Choose from these options to fill in
the blanks below.
lode
soil
rocks
Tom
bedrock
hydraulic
hardrock
panning
riffles
settle
2
3
4
7
6
1
5
1. A dry river bed was a good place to make a __________________ hole. By sinking a hole down to the ______________,
a miner could bring up soil that contained the __________________ (lode or placer) deposits that had settled through the
shifting of the earth.
2. Mine shafts sunk deep underground into these hills were most likely used for __________________ (lode or placer)
deposits. This was called __________________ mining and it usually required a lot of men and money.
3. If enough water could be diverted to build up pressure, this slope could quickly be washed away down to sluices using the
__________________ technique.
4. Sand bars that form on the inside curves in a river may catch gold. These were often good places to get gold-bearing material
such as sand and gravel for __________________ (the easiest way to remove gold from sand, gravel, rock, and dirt).
5. Tree roots in a river can catch gold. This was a good place to get soil for a___________ (a rectangular box that was placed on
__________________and sloped forward). The __________________ was poured in first, and then the water.
6. Near a river was a good place to have a Long __________________, because miners could divert __________________
from the river to flow through it. The gold was caught in __________________ in the trough.
7. Since gold is about __________________ times heavier than the sand and gravel that accompanies it as it flows down the
river, it is likely to __________________ in the still water which occurs on the downstream side of a rock in a river.
22
Gold Rush
Digging for Numbers
Please fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
1.Fifty feet below the earth’s surface is a large layer of gold. You and some friends dig 36 feet straight down
during the first week. How much deeper do you need to dig before you find the gold? _______________
2.You have just found a 5-ounce gold nugget! You hurry to the bank and learn that gold is selling for $8 an
ounce. How much is your gold nugget worth? ________________
3.At the end of a full week of panning you found $28 worth of gold. If you panned exactly for the same amount
of gold each day, how many dollars worth did you pan each day? ________________
4.You have just bought 2 cans of beans, some tobacco, and a half pound of coffee at the general store. If 1 can
of beans cost 42 cents, the tobacco costs 75 cents and 1 pound of coffee costs $1, how much did you spend in
total? ________________
5.In 1848, about 14,000 people lived in California. By 1852, California’s population increased to about 250,000.
Approximately how many people flocked into California between 1848 and 1852? ________________
6.You don’t have much money, but you need to buy a horse. Mrs. Williams, who lives in town, will sell one to
you for $11.25. Miner Edward said he would exchange his horse for 3 ounces of gold. If gold is worth $3.50 an
ounce, who should you buy the horse from? ________________
7.What a gold mine! On your first day of digging you found $150 worth of gold. On the next day, using better
tools, you gathered $665, and on the third day, you found another $2000. You were so excited that you spent
$120 celebrating with friends. How much did you have left after the celebration? ________________
8.You and four of your friends have struck it rich! Together you have found $100 of gold in one day, and you want
to divide up the gold evenly among you. How much will each person get? ________________
23
Gold Rush
Digging for Numbers (continued)
Use the following chart to answer the questions:
Chart of
hours
Miner Joe
worked
Days of
week
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Fri
A.M. hours
4
?
6
6
6
P.M. hours
5
4
8
?
8
a. Miner Joe worked a total of 41 hours on the sunny days. How many hours did he work Thursday afternoon? ______________
b. Miner Joe worked 7 more hours in the afternoons than he did in the mornings. How many hours did he work
Tuesday morning? ________________
The Lucky Miner’s Mine
Your Uncle Homer has left a will making you the proud owner of the Lucky Miner Mine. Before he died, Uncle Homer
told you that all of the tunnels in the mine end in either a dead end, danger, or gold. But he didn’t tell you which
tunnels are which, or even how many of each type there are! Fortunately, Uncle Homer left you a partly finished map of the mine with some mysterious clues scribbled on it. (Uncle
Homer was a mathematician before he left for the gold fields and he loved puzzles). Can you use Uncle Homer’s clues
on the next page to finish the map and find the tunnels that end in gold?
Directions:
Figure out which tunnels have the gold. Use the clues and hints to finish the map and explore the mine safely.
Remember, a tunnel can lead to either a dead end, danger, or gold – these are the only three options. Don’t give
up too soon, but if you need more help, check out the extra hints at the bottom of the next page.
24
Gold Rush
Uncle Homer’s Clues
1. Beware of going into the mine if you don’t know your way! There are just as many tunnels that
end in danger as there are tunnels that end in gold! (HINT: Does this clue tell you how many
tunnels end in danger and how many end in gold? Why not?)
2.If you follow the paths to the four ends of the upper tunnels, the chances of finding danger at the
end of a tunnel are exactly 1 in 2. (HINT: Based on this clue, how many upper tunnels must end in
danger?)
3. When you reach one of the small forks in the mine, the chances that both tunnels on that fork will
end in danger are exactly 1 in 4. (HINT: how many small forks are there?)
Extra Hint #1: Based on clue #1 and the map, what is the most number of tunnels that could
end in danger? (Remember, for every tunnel ending in danger there has to be one that ends in gold.)
___________ Now, based on clue #2, determine how many upper tunnels end in danger. (If 1 out of
2 end in danger, then how many out of 4 end in danger?) ___________ So, how many total tunnels
ending in danger do you now know exist? (Don’t forget that you were already given the location of
one danger on the map.) ___________ If you look at clue #1 again, how many tunnels ending in gold
are there? ___________ All you have to do now is figure out which ones are which! If you get stuck,
try the next hint.
Extra Hint #2: Based on clue #3, how many small forks in the mine have both of their two
tunnels ending in danger? ___________ If you can label these tunnels on the map, you’ll be well on
your way to finding the gold.
Bonus Question:
There is a mine that has nine tunnels. Four of the
tunnels lead to gold, three lead to copper, and two
lead to silver. If you walked to the end of only one
tunnel, are you more likely to find gold there, or
something other than gold?
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
25
25
Pony Express
Pony Express
WORD BANK
Choose from these options to fill in
the blanks below. Some answers
may be used more than once.
1966
10-15
19
20
St. Joseph
10
A Bible
11-18
2
80-100
Young Mail Carriers
The Pony Express began carrying mail between California and ____________, Missouri, on
April 3, 1860. The route was nearly ____________ miles long and service was provided bi-weekly.
In summer, the trip took ten and a half days.
The Missouri freighting firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell hired ____________ young riders to
carry the mail across the continent aboard fleet-footed ponies. The age range of the riders was just
____________ years old. The company supplied the riders with ____________ and prohibited
them from engaging in any “drinking or swearing.” The riders wore close-fitting clothes to reduce
wind resistance and on their ponies were light racing saddles. They carried leather pouches filled with
____________pounds of mail wrapped in oiled silk to keep out the moisture.
These dashing young riders sped across the continent at an average of ____________ miles an hour,
stopping every ____________ miles for a fresh horse at one of the hundreds of relay stations along
the way. As the rider approached each station, his replacement mount would be saddled and ready
to go.
The rider would transfer his mail pouch and be on his way again in less than ___________minutes.
The Pony Express delivered mail to California far faster than other means. But the cost was much
higher. After only about ____________ months, the Pony Express went out of business. It ended on
October 24, 1861, the day the telegraph began providing instant communication across the continent.
The language used for the telegraph was Morse Code.
26
While exploring The Railroad Museum, see if you can answer the following questions:
1. What nationality were majority of workers building the Central Pacific Railroad? How many were _ there? ________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. To coordinate trains and prevent accidents, railroads agreed to develop ___________ time zones.
3. Railroad agents sent messages via the telegraph using______________ code.
4. Track workers moved along railroad lines in a hand-powered car called a ________________ .
Railroads
Let’s Build a Railroad
5. “Safety ____________________” is an important railroad motto.
6. The bass drum in “Railroad Work, Railroad Life” was played by a worker from _______________. 7. Pullman cars were known as “hotels on ____________________.”
Railroad Opportunity
1. Why was the railroad so important for California?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. What were the benefits of the railroad to California?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
27
Railroads
Train Cars
1
2
Baggage car
Function of car: ___________________________
Jobs on car: ______________________________
Sleeping Pullman car
Function of car: ___________________________
Jobs on car: ______________________________
3
4
Box car
Function of car: ___________________________
Jobs on car: ______________________________
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Dining car
Function of car: ___________________________
Jobs on car: ______________________________
San Francisco occupies just 49 hilly square miles at the tip of a slender peninsula, almost perfectly centered along the California coast. In 1848, the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills precipitated the
rip-roaring Gold Rush and within a year, fifty thousand pioneers had traveled from the west and east,
turning San Francisco from a muddy village and wasteland of sand dunes into a thriving supply center
and transit town. By the time the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, San Francisco was
a rowdy boomtown that gave way to the construction of wide boulevards, parks, a cable car system
and elaborate Victorian redwood mansions.
In the midst of the city’s golden age, however, a massive earthquake, followed by three days of fire,
wiped out most of the town in 1906. Rebuilding began immediately, resulting in a city more magnificent than before. Many of the city’s landmarks, including Coit Tower and both the Golden Gate and Bay
bridges were built in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, San Francisco’s reputation and attraction continues
to grow, attracting waves of re-settlers from all over the US. It is estimated that over half the city’s
population originates from somewhere else, and it remains one of the most proudly distinct places in
the world.
San Francisco
San Francisco
29
San Francisco
San Francisco: Cable Cars
Andrew Smith Hallidie invented the loop mechanism and cable car in 1873 after seeing a horse and carriage
filled with goods tumble down a San Francisco street.
The cable car is pulled on rails by latching onto a moving cable inside a channel beneath the street. The cable is
guided by an intricate system of pulleys and sheaves (large pulleys). At the powerhouse, huge winding wheels
driven by 510 horsepower electric motors pull cable loops at a constant speed of 9.5 miles per hour.
Through a slot in the street the car grabs the cable with a big vise-like lever mechanism called a grip. To start
the car, the gripman pulls back on the lever, which closes the grip around the cable. To stop the car, the gripman
releases the grip and applies the brakes.
Each cable car has three types of brake systems: wheel brakes place pressure directly on the wheels with steel
brake shoes; track brakes are two foot long pieces of Monterey pine mounted between each of the wheel sets
that press down on the track; and a slot brake is an 18-inch steel wedge that gets jammed into the street slot
to bring the car to a sudden stop in emergency cases.
The cable car is America’s only national historic monument that is mobile. It was the first and last cable car
system to be used in the world.
1.  Emergency brake lever
2.  Track brake lever
3.  Wheel brake lever
4.  Grip lever
5.  Emergency brake
6.  Adjusting lever
30
  7.  Grip
  8.  Bell
  9.  Rear wheel brake lever
10.  Track brake
11.  Wheel brake
12.  Cable
San Francisco
Cable Cars
Questions to Think About
1. Why were cable cars invented?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. Were the cable cars needed for transportation in San Francisco in the 1870s? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. How is the cable car superior to a horse and cart? How is it inferior?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
4. Why are cable cars still in use?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
31
San Francisco
Exploratorium
Housed in San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium was founded in
1969 by famous physicist Dr. Frank Oppenheimer. It has over 650 science, art, and
human perception exhibits. At the museum, you can touch a tornado, stick your
shadow to a wall, paint with light, and experiment with illusions.
1. Find 5 exhibits that use pendulums:
a. ___________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________
d. ___________________________________________________________
e. ___________________________________________________________
2. Find 3 exhibits that can give you a shock:
a. ___________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________
3. With your partner, choose one exhibit that shows how science benefits California. What did you select and
why?
32
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
San Francisco
4. Find 3 exhibits that can test your physical or mental capabilities:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
5.
What is your favorite exhibit? Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
6. Find 4 exhibits where you see something that isn’t really where you see it:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________________
7. Find 5 exhibits that involve spinning something:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________________
e. ________________________________________________________________
33
San Francisco
7. Find 5 exhibits that do something weird to your speech:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________________
e. ________________________________________________________________
Questions to Think About
What are some things that you want to know more about after spending time at the Exploratorium?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Alcatraz
Alcatraz is a small island located off the San Francisco Bay. For many years, it was home to one of the most famous
prisons of all time. Many people have lived on Alcatraz, from members of the lighthouse keepers and their families
to prisoners and guards. Prison guards lived in housing with their families. The children, who attended school in San
Francisco by riding the ferry every day, also played outside and lived normal lives on the island. Prisoners had no
freedom, and they spent their years isolated and alone. One wrote of the dispiriting effect of hearing laughter from
San Francisco carried on the late-night breezes. The geography of “the Rock” (oddly, Alcatraz is the Spanish word for
“strange bird,” referring to the pelican, not rock) lends it certain qualities, isolation being chief among them. Many
people often comment on the ever-present element of fear, maybe because of its position in the cold, forbidding,
dangerous, and very deep bay, or because of the fact that some of the worst criminals in the early part of the twentieth century were incarcerated there. There are no native plants or animals. Families planted yards and gardens and
tried to make the island home. Even the tide pools were made by hand. The only animals inhabiting the island are
birds; in fact, Alcatraz is an important bird rookery.
Five Significant Uses of
Alcatraz:
1) Military fort
2) US Military prison
3) Federal prison
4) Home to the American
Indian Movement
5) Part of the Golden Gate
Recreation Area
34
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